Leafpool
by nightwhisperofshadows
Summary: The young Auran Leafpool finds an injured Kisshu and takes him to her house. Can she teach him how to love again?
1. MY CHARGE?

Leafpool

Summary: The young Auran Leafpool finds an injured Kisshu and takes him to her house. Can she teach him how to love again?

I won't bore you with the details. But here is a new story. Set just after episode 45.

Disclaimer: Although I own a lot of things, I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. If I did, that'd be cool! But I would probabley screw it up. On with the story!

* * *

The wind was icy cold, but Kisshu didn't care. He no longer cared for anything as he could no longer feel anything. She had been so final in her judgement that Kisshu knew there was no way to change her mind. He couldn't turn to his brothers. They'd just say 'We told you so!' then walk away and leave him to his moping. At least it would be all over soon. Currently residing in a small cave on the outskirts of Tokyo, he summoned one of his dragon swords and held it to his neck. Without Ichigo, he had decided there was no reason to live anymore. A few tears spilled over his cheeks as he applied pressure and cut his neck. Allowing the blood to spill over his body, he soon let the darkness take him in its cold arms. But he never noticed the slim figure watching him, just a little bit away.

* * *

Leaf had never seen someone so desperate to end their life. Never. She didn't know what compelled her but as he fell after previously being crouched up against the cave wall, she rushed to grab him before he hit the ground. Turning him over in her lap to inspect the wound, she found it needed to be bandaged fast if he was going to live. Reaching into one of her belt pockets, she pulled out a roll of cloth and wrapped it around his neck to prevent more bleeding. She would have to get him to her home. She could give him better treatment there. A quick shiver from the boy reminded her that she didn't have much time. She quickly gathered him up in her arms and teleported home; she wasn't going to risk his wound bleeding more. Ending up in the infirmary, she laid him onto the bed and examined him more carefully. No longer in cramped conditions, that cave was tiny, and with brighter light, she could see the full extent of his injuries; and they weren't pretty.

The bare skin on his arms, legs and face were dotted with bruises, cuts and dried mud. He was also almost frozen solid. Grabbing and wetting some rags to try and wash the dirt off, she only managed to place the corner onto his cheek before he let out a small, pain-filled cry and turned away from her. His voice was raspy and had an edge of something other than pain, but there was not enough of it for her to tell what it was. Crooning to him, she stroked his hair with one hand and turned him back to her with the other. She put the rag back onto his face while still stroking his hair. This time he flinched, but didn't pull away. Leaf took this as a good sign. She gently washed off all the mud; always making sure her other hand was either on his head or on his cheek. She was bandaging the last one when he cried out again, this time the pain was being replaced by the other tone and it was,

_Fear? He's afraid?_ She thought, concerned.

He cried out again and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, pulling herself to him. Once his whimpers had died down, she got a warm, and very fluffy, blanket and wrapped it around him. He grabbed tight fistfuls of it and she petted his head gently.

"I'm going to have a shower, you stay here okay?"

He snuggled deeper into the blanket. She took that as a yes and left him to his rest.

* * *

Coming out of her bathroom wearing emerald green boots, hair elastic and belt with belt pockets and earth brown shorts and shirt she stopped in surprise as she passed the doorway between her bathroom and bedroom. There, standing beside her bed, was her best friend, Raindrop. He was the same age as her, thirteen. He had dark blue hair, shorts, shirt and boots, orange eyes, large, pointed, triangular, furry, dark blue ears and a bushy, dark blue tail that was curling at the end. All Aurans had the ears and tail. Leaf's own were tan colored with green tips on both ears and the tail.

"Hey, Leaf."

"Rain," she called, over-joyed. She and Rain had been friends for many years. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you. Everyone back home is worried about you." Leaf looked away guiltily. She had gone off their home planet to Earth. Many other Aurans did that but the difference between them and her was that they had told others where they were going first.

"I'm just fine. Please tell the others so."

"I will. Has Silver noticed you're missing?" Rain asked, mentioning Leaf's former mentor. Aurans were apprenticed when they were six and finished their training at twelve. Their mentors would always be close to them, even though they weren't related. Sometimes the bond between mentor and apprentice was so strong that they later chose each other as mates.

"I hope not!" Leaf replied, twiddling her thumbs.

"You're underestimating me, youngster." A cool, female voice sounded in their minds. Leaf recognised it instantly. She gasped. It was Silverfang.

"Meet me in the infirmary please, Leaf." Her voice rang again in their minds. Leaf sighed as the mind communication line cut off.

"I better go see her. Later, Rain."

"No problem. Don't worry. Silver was probabley only worried about you. I better go. I'll see you soon?"

"Soon." She promised. "Goodbye." And with that, Rain disappeared. Leaf walked off to the infirmary. As she opened the door, there stood a very anxious looking woman with silver hair, clothes and animal parts. She also had soft, amber eyes.

"Leaf. We were all worried about you. You can't just run off like that."

Leaf hung her head guiltily. "Sorry, Silver. But I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to leave."

"I know. You were always like that, child. Why did you save him?"

Leaf made eye-contact with her mentor. "You're confusing me, miss. Am I still getting yelled at?"

"I don't yell, child. I am referring to the boy." She nodded her head towards the bed where the boy slept soundly, unaware of anything happening around him.

"I couldn't let him die, miss."

"But he wanted to, did he not?" Leaf wasn't about to question how she knew that. Silver knew so much, Leaf had long given up trying to work out how.

'Yes, but I think he would regret it later. I want to find him something to live for."

"Very well. He's your charge."

Leaf was shocked that she was getting entrusted with his care. She would've been sure someone more experienced would be chosen to. So shocked she couldn't help blurt out,

"But I only stopped being an apprentice six moons ago. Shouldn't someone else look after him?"

Silver turned to her.

"Your heart led you to him, did it not?"

"Yes."

"You're the one who saved him."

"Yes."

Silver smiled. "Then you are the one to help him. You are not only a gifted fighter but also a gifted healer, both physical and emotional pain. If anyone is able to help him, it's you."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, child. Anytime." With that, Silver teleported off, leaving Leaf and her charge.

* * *

That turned out better than I thought it would. A bit angsty in the beginning but lightens up further along. More stories and chapters along the way.

Nightstalker of shadows.


	2. Medicines

Leafpool

Summary: The young Auran Leafpool finds an injured Kisshu and takes him to her house. Can she teach him how to love again?

Set just after episode 45. I'm too tired to right any more author notes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.

* * *

Leaf rushed about as quietly as she could, trying to find what she needed without waking her charge. She made a mental note about what she needed and what they would be used for as she got them and placed them on a shelf near the bed.

_The poppy seed and honey tincture should get numb the pain in his wounds, help him sleep and soothe his throat. It sure sounded raspy. I already have rags, water and bandages. What I need is disinfectant. Where's that marigold poultice? Tansy for shortness of breath and feverfew for chills. Just in case but I wouldn't be surprised if both happened in that cold cave. Chamomile to strengthen the heart and mind. He'll need it after trying to kill himself. What else? Juniper berries to give him his strength back._

She looked in the jar of juniper berries to see she was almost out.

_I'll need more than this!_ She glanced back at him._ He'll be alright for a little while, won't he? I won't be gone for long. Most likely, I'll be back before he wakes up. Even if he does he won't be able to move, let alone run away._ She flashed a smile at him over her shoulder then stepped out of the room and out of the house. Before long she came to a juniper bush with fresh berries.

_Perfect. I just need a few._

She sat down and began to carefully pluck, then place berries inside the container.

* * *

Kisshu woke up a little while later. Leaf had overestimated the amount of time he would sleep. His first sensations were of a very warm and soft blanket wrapped around him and the fact he was lying on a bed. He lifted his head up a bit, even though it made his neck hurt like HELL, to see he was in what looked like an infirmary. One bed, a shelf with medical supplies, a fireplace and a window pretty much made up the room. The walls were a grass green colour and the bed sheets were a light blue.

_Where am I? Last thing I remember was cutting my neck then black._

He reached his hand up to the spot on his neck where the cut was to feel bandages. He looked at the rest of his body to see numerous more tied around several injuries.

_Who brought me here? This isn't one of the mews homes, it's not the ship and it definitely isn't the cafe. So who-_

His thought was cut short when he snapped his head to the doorway, as he heard it open. Coming through the door was a girl with emerald green eyes, earth brown hair, a emerald and jade leaf pendant around her neck that was hanging on a simple black cord and she had tan, large dog-like ears with light green tips and a tan, furry tail that had a green tip and was curling at the end. He watched her as she closed the door and made her way to the shelf, only to stop after noticing that he was awake and watching her. She quickly put the container she was carrying, filled with blue-purple berries, on the shelf among many other jars like it, went to him and slung her arms around his neck in a hug. Kisshu was confused, to say the least. He definitely didn't know this girl. She also wasn't a mew. What she was wearing was definitely NOT a mew outfit. He heard her say something but he was too absorbed in how her voice sounded than what she was saying. It sounded like a stream running over smooth pebbles. After a while he realised she was asking him something.

"Why?" She whispered to him, still not breaking the hug. "Why? Why did you try and kill yourself?" With the last sentence she pulled away to meet his eyes. He turned away.

"Because I have no reason to live." He felt her grab hold of his chin and turned his gaze back towards her.

"Are you sure about that? Even if you are right, isn't a little too early to give up?" Her voice, full of concern, made him feel very ashamed. He was saved from explaining as a wave of dizziness took over him. The girl realised this too and laid him back down on the bed and wrapped the blanket around him again. Then she got one of the containers, filled with a golden liquid, and a small measuring cup from the shelf, came back over to him and sat on the bed. She poured some of the sweet-smelling stuff into the cup and offered it to him. He sniffed it cautiously.

"This is a mixture of poppy seeds and honey." She explained. "It will numb the pain and help you sleep."

He sniffed it one more time before accepting it and letting her pour it down his throat. It also made his throat hurt less. The cold air around the cave had done some damage to it. The liquid was overly-sweet and made him feel sleepy instantly. He noticed the pain in his wounds fading away as well. The girl placed the cup and bottle back on the shelf and got the container of purple-blue berries. She opened it but made no move to do anything with the contents just yet. Instead she started stroking his hair with one hand while the other was keeping a firm grip on the opened jar. He decided to ask a question that had been bothering him since he woke up.

"Who and what are you?"

"I am an Auran and my full name is Leafpool, but most people just call me Leaf. And you?"

"My name is Kisshu and I am a Cyniclon."

He decided to ask another question...

"Why-"

...But it seemed the girl had other ideas. Apparently not wanting to answer his questions, as soon as he opened his mouth she placed one of the berries into it and closed his mouth with her hand. Not able to do anything else, he ate the berry and tried again. But the exact same thing happened. He gave up and just ate the berries. Soon enough, she stopped; finding that he wasn't able to stay awake much longer. She placed the lid back on and carried the container to the shelf. After placing it she turned back to him and smiled.

"I'm going to bed now. You going to be okay by yourself?"

He nodded. She smoothed the blankets then walked out the door, closing it and turning off the lights as she went.

* * *

Leaf went down to her room and opened the door. Her bed was a light blue and her walls were a sky blue with all different kinds of leaves painted on it. Keeping her eyes open only long enough to change into her light green night shirt and shorts then climbing into bed, her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow. She never heard the quiet moan of the floor boards as somebody walked through the corridor.

* * *

Hey there. Sorry but I don't have much to say. It is 1AM and I have insomnia (That means, for me, tying to go to sleep is like trying to get hell to freeze over!). So I won't say much. And I couldn't help but leave it on a cliffe. I'll write more, I promise, but I AM trying to juggle 14 story ideas at the same time. If anyone knows how to do this, please tell me! My head feels like it is going to explode! Night night,

Nightstalker of shadows.


	3. mom

Leafpool

Summary: The young Auran Leafpool finds an injured Kisshu and takes him to her house. Can she teach him how to love again?

Here it is! Chapter three. This story is getting much more popularity than I thought. I thought that because Kisshu is normally seen in such a strong way that putting him in the helpless spotlight would mean nobody would like this. More coming. Don't worry about the other two stories. I'm not giving up on them. I just have a very severe case of writer's block right now.

Kisshu: "What's writer's block?"

Nightstalker (Jumps ten feet in the air then lands upside-down on the couch): "NEVER, EVER, DO THAT AGAIN!"

Kisshu: "Alright, alright! You going to do the disclaimer or should I?"

Nightstalker: "Me, because I can't trust you with anything! OUT! I NEED TO WRITE!" (Shoves him out the door then locks it) "And don't you think of teleporting in!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. If I did, then I could have avoided that strange little fiasco!

* * *

Leaf woke up some hours later. Feeling her throat dry she went into the kitchen to get some water. She wasn't why she walked down to the lower level of her home for it when she could have just gotten it in her bathroom, but something compelled her to walk that way and it wasn't just the drink. Coming out of the kitchen, she was met with a surprise. There, lying on the couch, was Kisshu. She went over to him, perplexed at why he was down there at that time of night. He had his knees up to his chest and was hugging them tightly, as if he was trying to get some sense of companionship. He looked so lonely lying there that Leaf couldn't help but caress his cheek. She had a good feeling about why he was down there.

_He was probabley just lonely._

She went quickly up to the infirmary, grabbed the blanket, came back down, wrapped it around him, gathered him up in her arms then started making her way up the stairs.

_If he needs company then I'll give it to him._ She thought as she entered her room and placed him under the covers.

_Heh, heh. Looks like I have a bunk buddy tonight. _She thought with a grin as she slid under the covers herself. She wrapped her arms around him and brought him close. She didn't realise he had woken up until she felt soft tears falling onto her neck.

"Kisshu, what's wrong?"

He stopped crying long enough to answer her.

"Nothing. You just...remind me of mom." His voice was barely a whisper. Leaf could hardly believe her ears. Yes, she had been told she acted quite motherly at times but never once had someone said that they reminded them of _their_ mother.

"What's she like?" She quietly whispered into his ear, deciding talking to him would be better than more poppy seed tincture.

"Warm...and soft." He sighed. "I didn't want her to go." His last sentence was only mumbled under his breath but she heard.

"She left? I thought you would be the one to leave."

The tears stopped falling for a small while but his throat was always nurturing sobs. He honestly couldn't say why he told her the truth, but he did.

"No. She left. She died when I was three." Leaf gasped. She didn't mean to cause him pain.

"How did she die?" She could hardly bear to ask, knowing how much it hurt him to bring up these memories, but knew he'd probabley feel better after sharing how he felt with someone.

"She got very sick. So sick. One day she fell asleep, and never woke up." At the last half of the last sentence, he couldn't hold back any more and cried full-force into her chest. She gently sat up, placing him in her lap, and began to rock and soothe him. She had one more question to ask before she could understand just how much he was hurt.

"What about your father?"

He never stopped crying while he answered.

"N-no. H-he...He died long before I was born. I never knew him."

_So he's all alone and has been for a while. Poor kid._

With that, she returned to her previous actions. It was about an hour before Kisshu managed to cry himself to sleep, tears still carving a path down his cheeks. Leaf gently tucked the blankets around them and gently pulled her charge close to her. With his head laid gently on a pillow, she tuned into an Auran dog. She was tan with her ears and tail. She crawled under one of his arms and he unconsciously wrapped the other under her so that he was gently hugging her shoulders. He curled up to her side, murmured unintelligently and nuzzled her gently. She leaned her head onto his. She started to drift off but was jolted awake by the sounds of someone calling and crying desperately.

"Momma! Momma! No, please! Don't go! Don't go..." Kisshu started clinging to her for dear life and she was helpless to do anything but try desperately to silence his whimpers.

"Shhhh. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here. Don't cry. I'm still here. Don't cry, Kisshu. I'm not going anywhere." Her voice dropped to a low, compassionate whisper. "I'll always be here for you." And with that she gently kissed his forehead and started singing.

_Nen nen kororiyo okororiyo. Boyawa yoikoda nenneshina._

With each word, his tears slowed and his whimpers softened.

_Boyano komoriwa dokoe it ta. Anoyama koete satoe it ta._

Now his sobs and cries started spreading out so they were shorter and not as many.

_Sato no miyage ni nani morata. Denden taikoni sho no fue. Sho no fue._

The last syllable gently broke the silent night air as Kisshu finally went into a peaceful sleep. His grip was still tight around her but she didn't mind. It wasn't uncomfortable and he needed to be sure she wasn't going to suddenly disappear from his grasp. With a last check to be sure her charge was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on his face confirmed that, she gently closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her as well.

* * *

I got the lullaby of cruelfeline's healing story. It is one of my favourites and I felt the need to honour the story with the song. Cruelfeline, you are a true author. Any credit for this chapter should go to her. She and her wonderful writing are what gave me the inspiration for this chapter. And yes, for anyone who was worried about me for my strange talking to myself at the beginning, I have gotten over that sugar rush. Night, night,

Nightstalker of shadows.


	4. caught

Leafpool

Summary: The young Auran Leafpool finds an injured Kisshu and takes him to her house. Can she teach him how to love again?

Sorry for the long wait but it is becoming hectic here as it is nearing the end of the year. I promise to update a lot during the holidays. As long as my mother doesn't make me do a whole bunk of chores again. She's mean!

Disclaimer: Nope! Still don't own it.

* * *

A poke found its way into Leaf's shoulder. She ignored it. Another poke. She shook it off with a mumble. Two fingers poked in her shoulder at once, waking her up. Turning her head, she faced the two nuisances, still half-asleep.

"What do you two want?" She addressed the two seven-year-old Auran twins. The girl, Blazepelt, had fiery hair and green eyes while her brother, Iceeye, had white hair and ice-blue eyes. Blaze had fiery Auran parts while her brother had white. They both looked at her with a cheeky grin.

"We heard you had taken in an outsider. We wanted to see him." Blaze said in a much too loud voice. Kisshu mumbled and buried his face further into Leaf's pelt. The twins watched him with interest. Leaf turned back into her normal form, making sure Kisshu was still hugging her mid-riff, and then cuffed the twins soundly around the ears. In a hushed whisper, she replied,

"Stop that! If you speak that loudly, you are going to wake him." Both twins backed away a few steps with guilty expressions on their faces. She felt Kisshu let go of her and turned around to see him rubbing his eyes. He blinked a couple times, then looked at the twins. He stared for a few minutes before giving his familiar smirk and saying,

"A little early for visitors, isn't it?" The twins sported a grin before yipping a cheerful 'hello'.

"Kisshu, these two are Blaze and Ice. I'm sure you'll know which is which. Twins, this is Kisshu. He is a friend of mine." Kisshu rolled his eyes in a sarcastic fashion.

"Have you met Rain and Shadow yet?" Ice asked. Kisshu looked at Leaf confused.

"No, he hasn't. I'll introduce him to them soon. Kisshu, they're my friends." Kisshu nodded and was about to go back to sleep when Ice's annoying voice made its way into his ears.

"Did you know that all Aurans have a unique name? The first half might be the same but never both the first and second halves. No one else will ever be known by that name."

"Really?" Leaf noticed he was tired and quickly shooed the twins out of the room. She then sat back down on the edge of the bed and started stroking his hair, sending him to sleep again.

"Sleep well. When you're better, I'll introduce you to the Raindrop and Shadowcloud."

**Two Weeks Later...**

Kisshu had healed and been introduced to the last two members of the group of friends and was fitting in really well. Shadow, Rain, Blaze and Ice had moved into three of the spare rooms, the twins sharing one, to be closer to the two friends and Kisshu had moved out of the infirmary and into a fourth room. But the occasional nightmare meant the occasional late-night visitor in Leaf's room. Over the two weeks, Kisshu and Leaf had become really close friends, but for Kisshu, and he couldn't even admit this to himself, he had started to develop feelings for Leafpool.

* * *

Two pairs of feet walked through the corridors and into the main room. It was close to midnight and the house was completely silent. However, things can change fast and first impressions are often misleading. Rope went around the intruders ankles and soon there were two shapes caught. The lights flicked on to reveal both Pai and Taruto, hanging upside down from the ceiling by their ankles, trying their best to regain their dignity.

"Yeah, we got 'em." Blaze boasted. Blaze and Ice jumped onto the back of the couch and pointed their loaded slingshots at the two aliens.

"Make one wrong move and you get hit with these." Ice called. Rain showed himself from the same couch, holding a knife.

"Who are you?"

"Why should we tell you?" Taruto snarled, only to find a sword tip at his throat and an arrow just missed Pai's shoulder.

"Because he asked nicely..." Leaf answered, her bow already re-loaded.

"...And because you're starting to get on my nerves." Shadow finished, the wielder of the sword. She had black hair and red eyes, was bout fifteen and black Auran parts.

"What is all the commo-"Kisshu came in and stopped half-sentence and burst out laughing when he saw Pai and Taruto beaten by the five Aurans.

"Kisshu Ikisatashi! This is not funny!" Pai and Taruto started trying to reach and untie the rope around their ankles. Kisshu tried to choke back his giggles.

"Sorry, guys. It's alright. Let them go. They're my adoptive brothers." Shadow kept her frown but Leaf obliged. With deadly accuracy, she fired two arrows that cut through the rope, leaving the boys to try and regain their lost dignity. Pai caught himself and landed perfectly. Taruto just hit the floor. Pai turned to the brother they had been searching for, for two weeks.

"Kisshu, what are you doing here?" Leaf gained a wicked grin and called the other four Aurans to her and left the room with them, leaving Kisshu alone to explain. Once they were in the hallway, Blaze turned to Leaf.

"Was that a good idea? To leave him to explain alone?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"Shh," Leaf hushed her. "Kisshu is going to have finished telling about us and how he got here in...5...4...3...2...1-"

"WHAT!" The shout sounded throughout the hallway. Leaf snickered.

"I'd better go and stop those two from killing Kisshu." She came into the room to see that her sentence wasn't too far off from reality. A few minutes of separating the boys and they had calmed down enough that they weren't fighting.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding." Leaf said to Pai and Taruto.

"That's alright."

"You are..."

"Pai and the little brown head is Taruto."

"I presume Kisshu told you about us."

"Yes." Pai stood up and turned to Kisshu.

"We should go." Kisshu looked down-hearted.

"I'd like to stay here for a while, actually." Pai looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Well, they did help me. I'm in their debt." Kisshu looked quickly at Leaf from the corner of his eye to see that she looked thrilled at the news of him staying. Pai almost didn't see the exchange, but he did and his first thoughts were _Oh, no. Not again._

"Very well. But if something happens," Pai flicked his eyes from Kisshu to Leaf and back. Kisshu looked startled. "Do know you are able to come back to the ship anytime."

"You got it." Pai smiled slightly before turning to the youngest of the three.

"Taruto. We're going home." Taruto and the twins stopped their little game of tag at the eldest aliens call. Taruto went obediently over to Pai and the air rippled around them. When it stopped, they were gone. Leaf turned to her friends.

"Shall we turn in for the night?" The others nodded and went to their rooms. But not before Kisshu sent a longing look at the fading shape of Leaf as she went down the hallway.

* * *

Done. Story is popular. So tired. Ja ne,

Night.


End file.
